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Network of Sacred Heart Schools

Glossary of Terms

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GLOSSARY OF SACRED HEART TERMS

Children of Mary

The Congregation of the Children of Mary, whose

primary purpose was the spiritual formation of the

students of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, was

first formed in Amiens in 1816, in the Paris school

in 1820. In 1832, since the rule of cloister prevented

the religious from leaving their convents, Mother

Barat organized a group of former students in Lyons

to perform works of service, especially for the poor

and needy. From these roots grew sodalities, or

religious fellowships, for the various levels of

students: the Infant Jesus Sodality for the lower school, the Sodality of St.

Aloysius for the middle school and the Sodality of the Holy Angels for the high

school. The Children of Mary became the sodality to which students in their last

year of high school and in college aspired. The initials E.deM., which a member

wrote after her name, stood for the French Enfant de Marie.

While the aims of such religious fellowships are met in different ways today, in

some Sacred Heart schools members of the former sodalities still gather for

days of prayer and reflection.

Cœur de Jésus

Refrain:

Cœur de Jésus sauvez le monde, (Heart of Jesus, save the world)

Que l’univers vous soit soumis (May the world be submitted to you,)

En Vous seul notre espoir se fonde (In you alone our hope is founded)

Seigneur, Seigneur, Vous nous l’avez promis. (Lord, Lord, you have promised us this.)

Vous l’avez dit: Votre promesse (You have told us: your promise)

Fait notr’espoir, notre bonheur : (Will be our hope, our happiness:)

« Je bénirai dans ma tendresse (“In my tenderness, I will bless)

Les enfants de mon Sacré Cœur. » (The children of my Sacred Heart.”)

Vous l’avez dit: Sauveur fidèle, (You have said, O faithful Savior,)

Votr’ amour nous l’a révélé: (Your love has revealed it to us:)

« Le cœur brulant pour Moi de zèle (“The heart that burns with zeal for Me)

Par le Mien sera consolé ! » (Will find consolation in my Heart.”)

Congé ( kon-zhay: French leave taking, farewell)

It’s a congé! This announcement is recognized by students at Sacred Heart

schools as signaling a day when they take leave of their regular studies and

channel all energy into having fun. Congés come when they are least expected,

since the planning for them is done in secret. Originally, the activities and games,

such as cache-cache (a group form of hide-and-seek), were planned by the

religious for the girls of the boarding schools.

The tradition has carried over to many Sacred Heart schools of today and

provides an opportunity for older students to exercise skills of planning and

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organizing as they work with administrators and faculty members to prepare

activities for the younger students.

Convent of the Sacred Heart

Only a few schools in the Network of Sacred Heart Schools formally maintain as

part of their mailing address the full name “Convent of the Sacred Heart.” A stop

at many schools, however, still brings a visitor face to face with the name on a

sign or plaque near the main entrance. Such a sign is a reminder that the parents

of older alumnae of the Sacred Heart schools were quite conscious of sending

their daughters to what was sometimes called a “convent school” – not simply a

school where nuns taught but a residence for nuns where young girls went to

receive an education from the nuns and generally live with them for some part of

the school term. From their founding until 1964, the Religious of the Sacred

Heart were cloistered. In other words, they pledged themselves to the communal

pursuit of religious perfection in a residence consecrated for that purpose and

therefore, removed from the ordinary traffic of society. The religious were

permitted to come into contact with individuals not living such a life of religious

commitment and permitted to serve them as long as the contact and service

occurred within the convent.

The Education of Catholic Girls

Of Scottish race, the youngest daughter of a clergyman

of the Established Church of England, Janet Erskine

Stuart became one of the most important influences in

the lives of those she touched. As sixth superior general

of the Society of the Sacred Heart (1911-1914), she

traveled around the world sharing her inspiration on the

education of youth and direction of teachers. Her book,

The Education of Catholic Girls, highly acclaimed when

it was first published in 1912, has come to be regarded

as a classic, advanced in its insights into the pedagogy

and development of young women. Originally written

for a general audience with an interest in the problems of

education, it is a must for anyone attempting to become informed about the spirit

of education at Sacred Heart schools. Of the goal of such education, Mother

Stuart wisely wrote, “So we must remember that it is better to begin a great work

than to finish a small one…Our education is not meant to turn children out small

and finished but seriously begun on a wide basis.”

Exchange

The Network of Sacred Heart Schools offers a program of both domestic and

international exchange to its students. In this program, upper school students,

usually grade 10 or above, may apply to attend another school in the Network for

approximately one quarter, or ten weeks, or the entire year. In order to qualify for

exchange, students must be in good academic and social standing at their home

school and obtain the recommendations of their teachers and head of school. The

exchange coordinators at the students’ home school and intended exchange

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school handle the paperwork. After students are accepted, schedules compatible

with what they have been and will be taking for the rest of the year are worked

out. Exchange students live either in the boarding school or with a host family.

The many advantages to exchange include seeing another part of the

country/world, getting a taste of life away from home before college,

experiencing life – academic, extracurricular, religious, and social – at another

school, making new friends and building community within the Network.

Feast of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat

Madeleine Sophie Barat, foundress of the Society of the

Sacred Heart, was born in Joigny, France on December 12,

1779. She was a frail, intensely thoughtful child. She grew

up in the simple home of a barrel maker where she

received a remarkable education under the guidance of her

brother, Louis. At age 16, Sophie went to Paris with Louis

to study, following a demanding program that included

mathematics, Latin, theology, and biblical studies. It was

in Paris that she learned from Father Joseph Varin of plans

for a new religious congregation whose end would be to

glorify the Heart of Jesus. It was to be rooted in prayer and devoted to the

ministry of education. On November 21, 1800, with three others, she consecrated

her life “to make known the revelation of God’s love, whose source and symbol

is the Heart of Christ.” The first school was in Amiens, France. On January 18,

1806, at the age of twenty-six, Mother Barat was elected superior general of the

order, an office she held until her death in 1865. On Ascension Thursday, May

25, 1865, Madeleine Sophie Barat died in Paris. She was beatified in May 1908

and was canonized a saint in 1925. Her feast is celebrated on May 25th.

Feast of St. Philippine Duchesne

Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne was born in Grenoble,

an ancient city in the French Alps, on August 29,

1769. Strong-willed and impetuous, she was the eldest

daughter of a large merchant family. She was educated

at home and at the Visitation Monastery of Ste Marie

d’en Haut, located on a mountain above the city. She

entered the cloister there against the wishes of her

family. When the French Revolution swept down

from Paris, Philippine was forced to return home. For

ten years, in dangerous circumstances, she worked for

the underground church. Philippine was introduced to

Madeleine Sophie Barat in 1804, and entered the Society of the Sacred Heart.

The two, Philippine and Sophie, remained life-long friends. Philippine’s greatest

desire was to be a missionary to America, to serve the Native Americans. She

persisted in her requests, and in 1818, Mother Barat consented. Philippine and

her four companions reached New Orleans on May 29, 1818. Philippine

established the first free school for girls west of the Mississippi in St. Charles,

Missouri. It was from this school in St. Charles, then in Florissant, that other

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foundations were made, and the twenty-one schools of the present Network of

Sacred Heart Schools were established.

The mission of the Society of the Sacred Heart spread rapidly throughout the

New World, and the schools survived against great odds because of the prayer

and sacrifice of Philippine Duchesne. On November 18, 1852, at the age of

eighty-three, Mother Duchesne died at St. Charles. On May 12, 1940, she was

beatified by Pope Pius XII. She was canonized July 1988 by Pope John Paul I.

Her feast is celebrated on November 18th. Her remains rest in the shrine

dedicated to her on the campus of the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St.

Charles.

Field Day

Field Day, sometimes referred to as Sports Day, is a special day near the end of

each school year when students in Sacred Heart schools are able to display their

athletic gifts. The way each school carries on the tradition may be unique. In

some schools, a Committee of Games, comprised of students, may take on the

task of preparing the activities. In other schools, Field Day has become the

responsibility of the physical education department. In schools where the student

body is divided into teams, Field Day may be the high point of the year, the last

opportunity to accumulate points for the coveted cup or trophy.

Formation to Mission

The term Formation to Mission within the Network schools refers to an ongoing

plan for the education of adults to the essential elements of the mission and

traditions of the Society of the Sacred Heart. Dimensions of this formation

include awakening and deepening one’s personal relationship with the heart of

Christ, developing these competencies in the public sphere, and empowering

others to claim their own relationship with God.

Goals and Criteria

“The Goals and Criteria are the sine qua non for every

school that belongs to the Sacred Heart network.”

Preamble to the 1975 Goals and Criteria for

the Sacred Heart Schools in the United States

In the late 1960’s in the aftermath of the Second

Vatican Council, Sacred Heart schools faced a number

of serious challenges: a declining number of religious

available for work in the schools, a smaller number of

Sacred Heart schools open and operating and the development of independent

Boards of Trustees in the remaining institutions. Lay and religious Sacred Heart

educators began to meet to find a way to safeguard the legacy and vision of

Sacred Heart education in the United States. Eventually five goals were

articulated that help define what a Sacred Heart institution true to the inspiration

of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat strives to do, and specific criteria were drawn up

by which to judge whether an institution is indeed pursuing each of the five goals

and thereby merits membership in the Network of Sacred Heart Schools. The

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Goals and Criteria published in 1975 were adapted and refined in 1990 to reflect

more accurately the challenges facing the schools as they near the end of the

century.

During the 2004-2005 academic year, the constituencies of the Network

Schools and Religious of the Sacred Heart engaged in a spirited consultation.

The 2005 Goals and Criteria document is the fruit of that consultation. The

“foundational principles” contained in this document are essential elements

for being a Sacred Heart school.

Goûter (goo-tay; French to taste)

Goûter is a long-standing tradition in Sacred Heart schools. In days of the

boarding schools, when it was not uncommon for classes to meet until five

o’clock in the afternoon, it was necessary to provide the students with a mid-

afternoon snack. Later, as the schools grew, the cost and logistics of providing

daily goûter became too complex.

Today, goûter, is a special treat to which students in Sacred Heart schools look

forward on special feast days and holidays.

International Passport

The International Passport is a small card that

identifies the holder as a member of the

worldwide Sacred Heart community. It is a

helpful item in these days of constant travel. It

can serve as a means of introduction and even a

source of help in the forty-four countries where

the Society of the Sacred Heart presently serves. The International Passport is

usually given by the head of school at the end of the school year to the graduating

class. There is also an International Directory of Sacred Heart Schools available

on the website of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools – www.sofie.org.

Lily Procession

The Lily Procession is held on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception,

December 8th. The students present a lily to our Lady while saying, “O Mary, I

give you the lily of my heart; be thou its guardian forever.”

This practice continues in few of our schools today. A celebration of Mary

often takes place during the month of May.

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Mater

In 1844, a generation after the Society of the Sacred

Heart was founded, Pauline Perdrau, a young novice,

took it upon herself to produce a fresco of the Virgin

Mary on a wall in a recreational area of the convent,

Trinità dei Monti in Rome. As a child, Pauline had had

a favorite pink dress, so she chose to paint Mary as a

young woman in a rose-colored dress rather than a

matronly Madonna in blue. The lily at Mary’s side

represented her purity; the distaff and spindle, her love

of work; a book, her dedication to study.

Unfortunately, although Pauline put herself

wholeheartedly into her task, her inexperience with the

technique of fresco did not produce the beautiful soft painting for which she had

hoped. The too vivid colors had to be hidden behind a drape. Pope Pius IX, upon

visiting the convent, requested that the curtain be removed. Seeing the fresco of

our Lady, its colors inexplicably softened, he exclaimed, “Mater Admirabilis!”

(Latin for “Mother Most Admirable”) Miracles soon began with the cure of a

missionary priest who had completely lost the power of speech. Permission was

given to offer Mass before the miraculous picture and to celebrate the feast of

Mater Admirabilis on October 20.

There is a statue and/or picture of Mater in each of our schools today. This

special day is marked with liturgical celebrations, alumnae gatherings and

pink goûter.

May Crowning

In those schools that celebrate a May Crowning, students are chosen by their

classmates to perform one of three functions during the May Crowning: to read

an Act of Consecration to our Lady, to carry the crown, or to crown our Lady’s

statue.

Network

The Network of Sacred Heart Schools is composed of independent educational

institutions historically interrelated and committed to the vision articulated in the

Goals and Criteria. The purpose of the Network is to provide education, services

and programs to further Sacred Heart education in the United States.

Each member institution in the Network of Sacred Heart Schools is governed by

an independent Board of Trustees. Membership in the Network is dependent

upon commitment to the philosophy of and formal accountability to the Society

of the Sacred Heart. This relationship of member schools to the Society of the

Sacred Heart is monitored by a specific Sacred Heart system of institutional

evaluation.

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Plan of Studies

In 1804, four years after the founding of the Society

of the Sacred Heart, members of the Society turned

to Father Jean-Nicolas Loriquet, an educator of boys

in Amiens, to ask him to draw up the first of eleven

formulations of a Plan of Studies that would provide

a guide for teachers in their mission to educate “the

whole woman with a view to her own vocation in

the circumstances and the age in which she has to

live” (1952 formulation). At first, when all the

schools were in France a single curriculum was in

effect in all the boarding schools. Over the next 150

years, meetings of Sacred Heart nuns called chapters

enacted revisions of the Plan to adapt it to new countries and cultures and to

changing conditions. In 1958, however, a new document entitled Spirit and Plan

of Studies replaced the Plan. It was a statement of the philosophy and pedagogy

of Sacred Heart education that would hold good despite the external differences

peculiar to each setting in which Sacred Heart schools find themselves. In this

spirit, schools in the United States have adapted their programs and methods to

suit the special situation of each school, but the formulation of the Goals and

Criteria for Sacred Heart Schools in the United States (1975, 1990 and 2005) has

helped to provide the feeling “of belonging to a larger whole, of sharing

principles and values, broad purposes, hopes and ambitions.”

Primes

Originally the first exercise of

the week in a school of the

Sacred Heart, Primes was the

assembly of students and

religious at which judgment

on the previous week’s

conduct, good or bad, and

results of the previous week’s

tests were announced. Medals

for politeness, for order, and for excellence in various academic subjects were

also awarded, to be worn for a particular week. But Primes was also an exercise

in poise. Each class was called, formed two by two, and advanced toward what

could seem an intimidating group of black-garbed nuns. After forming a

semicircle in front of the religious, the class curtseyed and waited for “notes” to

be read. A card imprinted Tres Bien signified “very good” in behavior; a card

with Bien meant “good;” a card with Assez Bien meant “good enough,” or rather

“not good enough.” If a student was not bien at all, she did not receive a card,

simply an oral report of “no notes,” a judgment to be dreaded. A student was

expected to answer with graciousness and dignity any comment or question of

Reverend Mother.

This weekly practice has been replaced with monthly/quarterly, annual

assemblies.

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Prize Day

Sometimes referred to simply as “Prizes,” Prize Day brings a formal end to the

school year in some Sacred Heart schools. Students are recognized for their

academic achievements throughout the year and, in some schools, for character

formation. The school community comes together for a formal assembly to

distribute the prizes. In former days, the prizes usually consisted of books; now

the prize can often be a certificate or award recognizing specific achievement.

From the youngest to the oldest, the students are taught to accept awards

graciously and to applaud the skills and talents of others.

This practice continues in most of our schools today. In some schools the term

Prize Day has been replaced with “Sacred Heart Awards” or some other title.

Provincial Team

The Society of the Sacred Heart is divided into

provinces, each province usually

comprising a country or related geographical

areas. There is a provincial, or superior, for each

province, and a provincial team. The provincial

is appointed by the superior general after input

from members of the province (which numbers

approximately 400 members in the United

States). The provincial team is appointed by the provincial and, together with her,

offers guidance for the spiritual, apostolic, and professional direction of the

members of the province. Seen above: Kathleen Conan, Provincial and Team

Members Paula Toner, Marina Hernandez and Anne Byrne. The headquarters of

the United States Provincial Team is currently in St. Louis, Missouri. The team

sends out monthly news of the province in the newsletter Update, and its various

members visit different areas of the United States each year. This group also

maintains close ties with the superior general of the Society and her team, called

the general council. They are located in Rome, the headquarters of the whole

Society.

Religious

The use of the term “religious” in reference to the nuns who serve in the schools

of the Society of the Sacred Heart is often confusing to friends new to the Sacred

Heart way. The terms “sister” and “nun” are more familiar to those Catholics

who attended parochial schools. Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Heart often

sign their names followed by RSCJ, which is derived from the French Religieuse

du Sacré Coeur de Jésus. During the 19th century, “Madame,” as a term of

address, was used for the Religious of the Sacred Heart because the Society had

come into existence shortly after the French Revolution, when it was not always

possible to obtain recognition under a specifically religious name. Since then,

“Madame” and later “Mother” were dropped in favor of “Sister” followed by the

last name.

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Ribbons

Ribbons, worn diagonally from a student’s

right shoulder and fastened on the left at

the waist to allow the ends to fall free to

skirt length, have long been marks of

distinction in Sacred Heart schools.

Students in the third and fourth years of

high school, classes that were traditionally

termed Third and Fourth Academics, wore

blue ribbons, light blue for boarders and dark blue for day students, while those

in the first and second years (First and Second Academics) wore green. The blue

and green ribbons were awarded by a vote of the students, ratified by the

religious, in recognition of good conduct, good spirit, helpful influence, and

leadership. Students in the middle school grades wore narrow green ribbons. In

the lower grades, students wore pink ribbons, with red ribbons reserved for the

first and second grades. Literary portraits of life in schools of the Sacred Heart,

like Mary McCarthy’s Memoirs of a Catholic Girlhood, usually mention the

wearing of ribbons as a distinctive feature of the schools.

Although still in use in several Sacred Heart Schools, ribbons are no longer

worn everywhere.

Sacred Heart Commission on Goals (SHCOG)

The Sacred Heart Commission on Goals facilitates a system of accountability for

Network schools in their carrying out the mission of the Society of the Sacred

Heart. The commission is comprised of RSCJ and lay educators and trustees in

the Network together with a member of the provincial team; it is accountable to

the Provincial Team. The Sacred Heart Commission on Goals initiates, oversees

and officially responds to a process of institutional self-reflection, by which each

school at regular intervals is able, not only to determine where its strengths lie in

relation to the Goals and Criteria, but also to express the concerns it has

regarding how well it is living the vision expressed in them. The process aims to

enable each school to formulate a plan for what it intends to do to deepen the life

of the Goals and Criteria within its community. The mission of the Sacred Heart

Commission on Goals stems from the belief that a community of educators can

renew itself by means of just such reflective self-evaluation that yields fresh

insights and recommitment.

sofie.org - Schools On line For Interactive Education

www.sofie.org is the

Network web site. This site

facilitates communication

between and among Sacred

Heart educators and their

constituents. The home page celebrates excellence in the schools. Among

its rich features, the site includes a map of and links to the schools in the

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United States, as well as a list of and contact information about Sacred

Heart Schools around the globe. Group e-mails have been set up on this

site for Sacred Heart educators throughout the Network. There is a

calendar of events on this site and employment opportunities in Network

schools are posted. Web casts of Network events and speakers are

available on the resource page. One can also view and download Network

documents: We Hold in Trust, The Life Lived, Glossary of Terms, the

Network Directory, etc., as well as quotes and prayers from our Founding

Mothers.

Teams

Traditionally, a Sacred Heart school is divided into teams. Each student, and

sometime each teacher and administrator, is inducted into one of two teams,

usually designated by colors; the Red or the Whites, the Blues or the Silvers, the

Greens or the Tans. Distinct from the varsity athletic or physical education

program in a school, the activities in which teams compete can range from selling

tickets for a raffle or other fundraiser to participating in or attending an

extracurricular event to decorating parts of the school building or keeping the

grounds clean. In the boarding-school days of some of the schools, students

earned or lost points for their team by the orderliness of their study hall desks and

dormitory lockers; sometimes the striving for points led even to double casting

for dramatic productions. Involving students in group ventures and rewarding

group effort, teams attempt to foster a healthy sense of competition and school

spirit and to heighten awareness of the value of individual contribution to

communal ventures. Public recognition of such efforts can come from the posting

of team points throughout the year and the final awarding of a trophy or prize to

the team with the most points at the end of Field Day.